Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1)

by Dawn, Taylor

  “Ava, I don’t want you to think this can go anywhere past where it is now.” He brushed his hands across hers.

  His words stung a bit. Sure, she’d been fully aware of their intentions when this all began, but now…she wanted more. “I feel like there’s something here. Something more than what we have. Don’t you feel it?” She wasn’t letting this go.

  Luke spun in her arms and cupped her face in his hands. “Yeah, I do. But that doesn’t mean we need to act on it. Can’t we just be content with this?” He was pleading with her. Behind those blue eyes he held himself back. For what reason, she didn’t know. But she wanted to. She was willing to stick it out to see if maybe he’d change his mind eventually.

  “I guess so.” She wasn’t happy with her own answer. Squaring her chin and giving him an ultimatum was on the tip of her tongue but the chances of ruining what they had now were too great. If this was the only way to have him, then yeah, she’d hang on.

  ***

  Damn it. Why did he have to go and jump into this thing with both feet? Luke knew it would backfire on him eventually and right now, it was all imploding in on itself. In his arms was this magnificent woman who he’d give his left nut to be with. But there wasn’t a future for them. In fact, Ava didn’t have a future and it was his fucking fault. He was using her. Using her for his own gain. When she found out who he really was, she’d hate him and he couldn’t blame her. Hell, he hated himself at the moment. If he didn’t have a job to do, he’d pack his shit and get the hell out of Dodge in the next five minutes. But even the thought of driving away from her sparked a pang of emptiness in his chest. No, he wasn’t leaving; he couldn’t. He’d stay here and finish this and then he’d be gone.

  “Something smells good out here.” Brandi and Cole sauntered out of the house with shit-eating-grins on their faces.

  “It’s about time you two decided to join us,” Luke was glad for the reprieve from talking about feelings and shit with Ava.

  “We were discussing the finer points of Biloxi living,” Brandi giggled.

  “And by finer points I assume each other’s sex organs?” Luke hooted. He felt Ava snickering while he held her in his arms.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Cole rolled his eyes and smoothed his hair down.

  Luke wasn’t thrilled that Cole had fucked Ava’s best friend. But the man was a grown up and could make his own bad decisions. Luke wasn’t there to play babysitter with the other guy. As long as Cole did his job, Luke would keep his boot out of his ass.

  Ava broke free of his grasp and walked over to her friend. “Let’s go check the food inside while they finish out here.”

  “The meat should be done in about five minutes,” Luke pointed out.

  “Okay.” She gave him a sweet smile—one of the ones that cleared the blackness away from his heart just a little more each time he saw it.

  Cole didn’t speak until both women were behind closed doors inside the house. “So…” he shuffled his feet and had a guilty look like a kid who’d just gotten caught sneaking Oreos.

  “Have fun?” Luke began tending to the food on the grill once more.

  “Brandi’s something else.”

  “Just remember the shit you told me. I’m throwing it right back at you,” Luke warned.

  “Nah, man. It was just some fun. Everyone needs to blow off some steam every now and again. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

  Luke didn’t like the thought of Cole saying Ava was just a way to blow off steam. His caveman instincts took over and he nearly growled at the other man. “No, it’s not.”

  “Come on. There are two fine pieces of ass in that kitchen. Who wouldn’t want to bend them over and make them scream?”

  “I’d watch it if I were you.” Luke took a deep breath and counted to ten. He hoped like hell Cole would shut his mouth.

  “We could swap,” Cole chuckled.

  That was it. Luke had no tolerance for the other man’s crass comments about Ava. Without thinking of the consequences he spun around and grabbed Cole by the shirt. “Look, motherfucker, I told you to shut your goddamned mouth!” His face was only inches from Cole’s as he shouted. “You don’t know how to follow directions do you?”

  “What’s gotten into you?” The deep brown of the other man’s eyes seemed to be taken over by the black of his pupils. “Where’s the hard ass Luke Daughtry I used to know? Are you pussy-whipped already?”

  “I told you to shut your trap.” Luke held tightly to Cole’s shirt.

  “So you’re gonna let some little blonde bitch lead you around by the dick because she’s such a good lay?”

  Before Luke thought twice he released Cole’s shirt, reared his arm back and cracked the other man in the jaw with his fist. Cole fell to the ground in a heap as he stood over him.

  “What the hell is going on out here?” Ava came running from the back porch with a look of terror on her face. She immediately dropped to her knees and surveyed the damage to Cole’s face. “Luke, why did you hit him?”

  Luke was too pissed to even talk at that point so he kept his mouth shut. But he saw something in her eyes that he hated himself for putting there. Fear. She was scared of him.

  “What the fuck?” Brandi came rushing out with a look of shock on her face. “Ava, what happened?”

  “I was looking out the window while you were in the bathroom and Luke punched Cole.”

  Luke’s feet were planted firmly but when Brandi walked up and shoved at his chest, he almost fell back with the force of her movements. “You want to fight? Huh? How about you fight me?” She kept shoving until his back hit the grill behind him.

  Ava stood from the ground and yelled, “Everyone stop it, please!” Luke’s heart sank as tears began to flood her eyes.

  “Ava, sweetheart, please don’t cry.” Luke stepped around her pissed-off friend and tried to console her.

  “Don’t you fucking touch me.” She shook her head and backed away, ripping his heart to shreds even more.

  A previously unconscious Cole groaned and lulled his head from side to side on the grass below them.

  “Fuck,” he bit out.

  “Brandi, go grab a bag of ice and a towel,” Ava instructed her friend.

  “Ava, look at me.” Luke spoke softly trying to get her to listen to him. The contempt for him that’d been so clear in her eyes was replaced with concern for the other guy as she bent down to help Cole to his feet.

  “Let’s get you inside and put some ice on your jaw.”

  “Ava?” Luke tried to get her attention again but she ignored him. Just fucking perfect.

  He watched her lead Cole inside the house, leaving him in what felt like solitary confinement outside. Rubbing a hand over his face he mentally kicked himself for losing his cool like he had. What the fuck was he thinking? Why couldn’t he just turn his cheek to what Cole was saying? The guy was always cracking jokes and being an asshole. It wasn’t any different than any other day. But today it wasn’t funny because he was talking about Ava. Luke plunked his big frame in a lawn chair, leaned forward, and braced his arms on his elbows letting his hands dangle in front of him.

  “Guess you’re in the doghouse now.” Brandi came out sat beside him. She extended her arm and handed him a beer with the cap already popped off.

  “I fucked up.” He sat back and took a long pull from the dark brown bottle, letting the yeasty liquid quench his thirst and quell the anger inside him.

  “Can I ask what happened?”

  “He was talking shit about you and Ava. There’s a lot of things I can handle, but that wasn’t one of them today.”

  “What kind of shit-talking was he doing?”

  “The bastard suggested we swap.” Luke groaned at the thought of another man’s hands on Ava.

  Brandi let out a hooting laugh and took a sip from her own bottle of beer. “You’re a nice guy and all, but I don’t think Ava’s the swinger type.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  “Why did
it bother you so much, though?” The crazy woman just wouldn’t let up.

  “I don’t want another man looking at her, let alone putting his hands on her.” He wasn’t ashamed to admit that fact. If Cole had even attempted to touch Ava he would’ve made it so the other man wouldn’t have use of his hands for the rest of his life.

  “Yet you don’t want anything serious with her? That doesn’t make a lick of sense.” Brandi shook her head.

  “Nothing makes sense anymore.”

  “Look, if you want this to just be a fling, by all means, keep doing what you’re doing. But I can tell you, that beautiful woman in there deserves a whole lot more than some guy fucking her and tossing her away when he’s done.” She sighed. “I don’t know much about Ava before she moved here. But from what I gather, it was some bad shit. She’s guarded her heart and body since she’s been here. I’ve watched dozens of men try to catch her eye but she didn’t spare any a second glance until you.”

  “She deserves better than me.” There, he’d finally admitted it. He should’ve felt better but he didn’t.

  “That’s a bullshit excuse and you know it.”

  Damn he wanted to just lay everything out on the table and pay the penance for his sins. He wished there wasn’t so much riding on this job so he could stop feeling guilty about what was going to go down. “Look, I don’t need someone analyzing me. Least of all you.” He didn’t mean to sound like such an asshole, but in his current frame of mind, nothing was going to come out of his mouth like it was covered in sprinkles. “What do you suggest I do? Huh?” He pinned Brandi with a stare that would have most people cowering, but the woman beside him shocked the shit out of him. She simply cocked an eyebrow.

  “You either fess up to how you feel, or you walk away.”

  “What if I don’t feel anything?” He knew that was a lie as soon as it spilled out of his mouth.

  “Then you must have yourself fooled because even an idiot can see the way you look at her.” That’s all the spitfire said before getting up and heading back into the house.

  Truthfully, Luke didn’t know what the hell he was feeling. His best guess was he was in lust with Ava. They had explosive sex and got along good. It couldn’t be anything other than that.

  ***

  After making sure Cole held the ice pack to his face to reduce the swelling on his jaw, Ava ran upstairs to Luke’s bedroom and began to throw her clothes back into her bags. She’d shut the door so no one could hear her cry; she knew as soon as she entered his room the tears would fall. And they did. Her vision was blurred as she stuffed her night shirt and shorts into the side of the small tote. As she zipped it up, her head whipped around to see Luke coming through the door and shutting it behind him.

  “We need to talk,” Luke said softly.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.” She wiped her eyes.

  “Yes, there is. I’m not letting you leave like this, Ava.” Luke stepped closer and she caught his unique scent once more. Damn him for smelling so enticing.

  “Are you going to punch me in the face, too?” she said with venom behind her words.

  “I lost my temper. But I can assure you one thing, I would never in my life put my hands on you like that.”

  “It wasn’t the actual hitting that scared me, Luke. It was the look of rage on your face. What did he do that was bad enough to put that look there?” She really needed to know what’d taken Luke to that point. Maybe it was morbid curiosity.

  He stepped dangerously close and she backed away until her spine was pressed against the wall. Luke didn’t retreat; he only came closer and leaned down to look her in the eyes. “He mentioned something about fucking you,” he growled. “So of course, I didn’t take that so well. Want to know why?” His head tilted to the side while he waited for her to answer.

  “Why?” Ava whispered.

  Her breath left her in a whoosh as Luke’s hand reached down, lifted the hem of her sundress and cupped her between the legs. “Because this,” he began to rub her over the top of her panties, “Is mine.” Her eyes fluttered shut as he applied more pressure. “It’s mine to touch, taste and fuck.” Ava groaned as he pushed the scrap of satin to the side and slid his fingers through her moisture. “I’m the only man who does this to you, sweetheart. I’m the only man who gets to come deep inside you while you’re writhing underneath me.”

  Her damn body wasn’t supposed to react to him like this while she was pissed at him. But she couldn’t help it. Luke turned her inside out with just a look. But he wasn’t looking right now, he was touching. And holy hell that was the one thing that unraveled her quicker than anything. “Make me come,” she breathed.

  “How close are you?” He rested his forehead against hers.

  “So close already.”

  “Good.” His fingers delved deep as he thrust them inside her and ground the heel of his hand against her clit. She was swollen and needy, ready to explode at any second. “I want you to tell me this is mine, that it belongs to me,” he gruffly said.

  “It’s yours,” she whimpered.

  “Come for me. Can you do that?” he cajoled.

  Ava nodded furiously as her orgasm ripped through her like a rogue wave shoving a small vessel under its murky depths. She couldn’t stop the screams that scratched against her vocal cords and echoed against the antiquated walls of the room. Luke held some sort of power over her; she was convinced of that. No, it wasn’t some crazy power trip he’d placed on her, it was deeper. An earth-shattering connection that felt as if it could stop time and douse the earth in shadows. But ignited again, it would burn so brightly that everyone would need to shield their eyes from its beaming rays. She couldn’t name it. Maybe in the back of her mind she wanted to, but saying those words could bring this entire thing to a halt and cause him to throw up unbreakable barriers. She’d take what he was giving for now. But eventually, she wanted him to reveal his true feelings. If he didn’t feel even an inkling for her what she felt for him, she’d walk away and never look back.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “They really want to meet us in Gulfport.” Cole drank from his mug at five a.m. trying to convince Luke that this meeting was imperative.

  “Why can’t you go on your own?”

  “Because they want to see both of us. This isn’t negotiable, Daughtry.” Cole’s tone thickened.

  “Fuck. I can’t just leave her here.”

  “Then have her friend stay with her. The meeting’s at noon.” Cole rose from his seat, not bothering to push his chair in. “I’ll drive.”

  “Fine,” Luke bit out. He wasn’t happy about having to leave Ava for any length of time. He’d bought her some time by telling his boss she was in Savannah, but it was only a matter of time before they learned the truth. At least she’d be safe here at his house while he was gone for a few hours.

  “Good morning,” Ava’s sweet voice called from the doorway.

  Luke looked up to see her stunning frame leaned against the doorframe. “Morning.”

  “You don’t look happy.” She came over and leaned down to kiss him. It was a quick peck on the lips but it still had the same effect that a deep sensual kiss would have. He felt that shit all the way down to his bone marrow.

  “I have to go to a meeting with Cole today.”

  “Oh. Okay.” She shrugged as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “I want you to stay here, though.”

  “Luke, I’m perfectly fine going back to my house,” she argued.

  “Can you please not make this a debate?”

  “I’m not debating; I’m telling you that I’ll be at my house. See? No debating necessary.” She gave a forced smile.

  “Damn it, Ava. Why can’t you just listen for once?” He stood from his chair so swiftly that it scraped against the tiled floor, making a horrible racket.

  “What’s gotten into you? Is it that time of the month for you? Do you need a man-pon?” She snickered, lightening his mood just a little.r />
  He had to think of a reason why she should stay here. “What if that ginger fucker is still pissed and comes after you?”

  “Who, Chase? Come on, I could poke him in the chest with my pinkie and he’d fall over.”

  “Please stay here. I’m not asking for much.” Luke didn’t beg, but he was pretty damn close to falling to his knees and pleading with the sexy blonde only a few feet away.

  “If it’s that important to you, I’ll stay,” she finally conceded.

  “Thank you,” he said as he enveloped her in a warm embrace.

  At least that was settled. Now he had to worry about what awaited him in Gulfport. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

  ***

  “Hey, Luke and Cole had to run to Gulfport for some kind of meeting today. Do you want to come over and keep me company?” Ava asked Brandi on the phone. She’d wandered around the house for about thirty minutes until she was bored out of her mind. What the hell did people do in these giant houses? Play bridge, smoke cigars and sip fine liquor all day long?

  “Yeah, but I can’t get off work for another hour,” her friend huffed.

  “Boss man being a dick again?” Ava felt sorry for her friend. The poor woman hated her job at the local newspaper. Seemed her supervisor liked to toe the line of sexual harassment. But he never went far enough that he could be reported.

  “Of course. When is he not being the mayor of Dickville?” Ava knew it was a rhetorical question so she didn’t answer. “But I’ll be there as soon as I’m released from today’s sentence here.”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  Well, crap. It looked like she had another hour to kill before her boredom would subside. “What to do, what to do?” She spoke aloud, then chuckled. “And now I’ve resorted to talking to myself.” She cachinnated again at her own absurdity.

  A thought came to her and at first she pushed it to the back of her mind. Luke didn’t want her in the basement. He made that perfectly clear. But she didn’t get a chance to take a good look around, maybe there were still unfound treasures lurking in that damp expanse. She mentally fought with herself over the decision to go down there. The angel on one shoulder shook its finger and told her to mind her own business, while the little horned devil told her that Luke wouldn’t find out that she’d been down there. And the red beast was right. He wouldn’t know. She’d go down, take a look around and come right back up. Luke wouldn’t ever find out because who would tell him? Her? Not happening.